Astronomy - Final Exam Study Guide

The smallest piece of an element (like gold or lead) that still has all the properties of that element is called 1. a quasar 2. an atom 3. an electron 4. a neutron 5. ytterbium

Atom

The Astronomical Unit (AU) as defined by astronomers is 1. a distance of one light year 2. the average distance between the Earth and the Sun 3. the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun once 4. the distance the Earth travels in orbit in one day 5. the distance between Congress and the White House

Average distance between the earth and the sun

How long a main-sequence star remains on the main sequence in the H-R diagram depends most strongly on 1. its initial elemental composition 2. the number of companion stars or planets orbiting it 3. its radial velocity (as measured from the spectrum) 4. its initial mass 5. its ability to fuse the element carbon into some other element

Its initial mass

The largest planet in the solar system (by mass) is 1. Earth 2. Mars 3. Venus 4. Jupiter 5. Neptune

Jupiter

Which law do astronomers use to determine the masses of the stars in a binary system? 1. Wien's Law 2. Kepler's Third Law of Motion 3. Stefan-Boltzmann Law 4. Hubble's Law 5. Jenny Craig's Law

Kepler's Third Law of Motion

What phase of the Moon must it be to have a solar eclipse? 1. full moon 2. new moon 3. first quarter 4. third quarter 5. it can be any phase as long as the orbits are lined up

New moon

The canals that late 19th and early 20th observers thought they saw on Mars turned out to be: 1. optical illusions 2. enormous cracks caused by extensive plate tectonics on Mars 3. very narrow oceans of water 4. huge chains of thousands of large volcanoes 5. built by the same race of ancient martian engineers who constructed the "face on Mars"

Optical Ilisuion

The earliest telescopes used by astronomers were: 1. reflectors 2. refractors 3. radio telescopes 4. about the aperture of the telescope on Mount Palomar 5. used late at night to look into the neighbors' windows

Refractors

The astrophysicist who first calculated the highest mass that a dying star can have and still be a white dwarf was 1. H. R. Russell 2. S. Chandrasekhar 3. I. Claudius 4. A. Hewish 5. D. Generate

S. Chandrashaeker

Our Milky Way Galaxy is what type of 1. galaxy? 1. spiral 2. elliptical 3. dwarf elliptical 4. irregular 5. none of the above

Spiral

The first artificial satellite the human race lofted into orbit was called: 1. Pioneer 2. Explorer 3. Newton 4. Sputnik 5. Luna

Sputnik

A light year is? 1. the time it takes light travel between the Sun and the furthest planet 2. the time it takes a beam of light to go completely around the Earth s orbit 3. the distance between the Sun and the next star 4. the distance that light travels in one year 5. how long it takes a Friday afternoon class in college to get finished

The distance that light travels in one year

The celestial sphere turns once around each day because 1. the planet on which we live is rotating 2. the Earth is going around the Sun 3. the phases of the Moon 4. precession 5. everything in the universe turns around the Earth

The planet on which we live is rotating

When did scientist begin to understand how the Sun produces all the energy that it does? 1. Most of the process was already understood by the ancient Greeks 2. Most of the process was understood by the end of the 18th century (the year 1800) 3. Most of the process was understood by the end of the 19th century (the year 1900) 4. The process was not well understood until the 1930's 5. Astronomers still don't have a clue about how the Sun produces energy

The process was not well understood until the 1930's

In the formula E=mc2, the letter c stands for 1. the speed of sound 2. the speed of an electron around the nucleus 3. the amount of energy contained in one hydrogen nucleus 4. the energy of a neutrino emerging from the Sun 5. the speed of light

The speed of light

The star that provides energy for life on Earth 1. the Moon 2. the Sun 3. Alpha Centauri 4. the Milky Way star 5. Beyonce

The sun

How are globular clusters distributed in our Milky Way Galaxy? 1. completely randomly: you never know where we will find one 2. only in the main spiral disk of the galaxy 3. mostly in a large halo above and below the flat disk of the Galaxy 4. only in the very center of the Galaxy, really crowded together 5. where the giant molecular clouds are found

mostly in a large halo above and below the flat disk of the Galaxy

Two stars have the same luminosity, but star B is three times farther away from us than star A. Compared to star A, star B will look 1. three times brighter 2. nine times brighter 3. nine times fainter 4. three times fainter 5. just as bright as A

nine times fainter

When a star or galaxy is moving away from us, we observe the Doppler effect by seeing the lines in its spectrum 1. red-shifted (shifted toward the red end of the light spectrum) 2. blue-shifted (shifted toward the blue or violet end of the light spectrum) 3. yellow-shifted (shifted so all the colors become a little bit yellower) 4. become darker and darker (like a blackbody) 5. the Doppler effect only applies to motions on Earth, not to the motions of the stars and galaxies

red-shifted (shifted toward the red end of the light spectrum)

A star is 230 light-years away. The light we see tonight from that star left it 1. one year ago 2. 2.3 years ago 3. 23 years ago 4. 230 years ago 5. the time depends on which part of the sky the star is in

230 years ago

To break up light into the component colors that it contains, astronomers use a device called: 1. a telescope 2. a CCD 3. a spectrometer 4. Cassegrain splitter 5. interferometer array

A Spectrometer

Why is it so difficult for astronomers to see new stars in the process of birth? 1. birth happens very quickly, so it is hard to "catch" stars "in the act" 2. most stars are born inside dusty clouds, which block any light that may be coming from the stars 3. the size of a newly forming star is typically quite small and thus hard to make out 4. protostars which are not yet doing fusion do not give off a lot of visible light 5. all of the above

All of the above

Which of the following can astronomers learn from studying the spectrum of a star? 1. its surface temperature 2. its motion toward or away from us 3. whether it is rotating slow or fast 4. whether it is a star the size of the Sun or a giant star 4. all of these can be learned from studying the spectrum 5. All of the these

All of these

Two stars that are physically associated (rotate around each other in space) are called 1. double stars 2. main sequence stars 3. brown dwarf pairs 4. first contact stars 5. binary stars

Binary stars

Which color star is likely to be the hottest? 1. red 2. green 3. blue-violet 4. yellow 5. orange

Blue-violet

The 88 sectors into which astronomers today divide the celestial sphere (the whole sky) are called: 1. zodiacs 2. constellations 3. asterisms 4. epicycles 5. celestial states

Constellations

The Renaissance astronomer who wrote the pioneering book that suggested the Earth probably orbits the Sun (instead of the other way around) was: 1. Newton 2. Ptolemy 3. Eratosthenes 4. Halley 5. Copernicus

Copernicus

Which part of the Sun has the greatest density? 1. the photosphere 2. the core 3. the convection region 4. the corona 5. all the Sun s parts have the same density

Core

The hotter region directly above the Sun's visible surface is called the 1. chromosphere 2. photosphere 3. corona 4. ionization region 5. convection zone

Corona

Where has frozen water recently been discovered on the Moon? 1. At the bottom of all the craters, we see on the side facing us 2. In the highlands, but only on the side of the Moon facing away from Earth 3. Deep inside craters in the regions near the Moons poles 4. In the maria, regions of the Moon that are water-filled seas 5. no water has ever been found on the Moon in any form

Deep inside craters in the regions near the Moon's poles

The way scientists know that a hypothesis in astronomy is a reasonable description of nature is to? 1. take a vote of astronomers around the world 2. consult with the oldest experts in the field 3. do experiments and observations about the predictions of the hypothesis 4. count how many scientific papers have been written about it 5. look it up in Wikipedia

Do experiments and observations about the predictions of the hypothesis

The Sun's apparent path around the celestial sphere is called 1. the horizon 2. the circumpolar zone 3. the celestial equator 4. the celestial hot-zone 5. the ecliptic

Ecliptic

Which type of galaxy is observed to contain mostly older stars? 1. spiral 2. elliptical 3. dwarf elliptical 4. irregular 5. none of the above

Elliptical

What phase of the Moon must it be to have a lunar eclipse? 1. full moon 2. new moon 3. first quarter 4. third quarter 5. it can be any phase as long as the orbits are lined up

Full moon

The scientist who made the first telescopic survey of the Milky Way and discovered that it is composed of a huge number of individual stars was 1. Isaac Newton 2. Galileo Galilei 3. Edwin Hubble 4. Harlow Shapley 5. Jill Tarter

Galileo

The first person who regularly turned a telescope to astronomical observations (and published his observations) was: 1. Isaac Newton 2. Galileo Galilei 3. Adam Refractor 4. Edwin Hubble 5. Karl Jansky

Galileo Galilei

The four large moons of Jupiter were first discovered by: 1. ancient people, seeing Jupiter in dark, cloudless skies 2. Galileo with his early telescope 3. Isaac Newton with his improved telescope 4. William Herschel, in the 18th century 5. the Voyager spacecraft

Galileo with his early telescope

The "prime meridian" (where longitude equals zero) passes through: 1. Paris 2. New York 3. the Pacific Ocean, away from all land 4. Beijing 5. Greenwich, England

Greenwich, England

When it comes to our place in the solar system today, which model do we accept? 1. geocentric 2. heliocentric 3. Ptolemaic 4. Aristotelean 5. Kardashian

Heliocentric

At the end of the p-p chain of nuclear fusion in the Sun, hydrogen nuclei have been converted into: 1. carbon nuclei 2. heavy hydrogen nuclei 3. antimatter and nothing else 4. a helium nucleus 5. a lithium nucleus

Helium nucleus

The period-luminosity relationship for Cepheid variables was discovered by 1. John Goodricke 2. Henrietta Leavitt 3. Edward Pickering 4. Henry Norris Russell 5. Annie Cannon

Henrietta Leavitt

Who was the astronomer who is the "H" in H-R diagram? 1. Hubble 2. Humason 3. Hertzsprung 4. Huggins 5. Hoyle

Hertzsprung

By far the most abundant element in the giant (jovian) planets is: 1. helium 2. hydrogen 3. oxygen 4. nitrogen 5. silicon

Hydrogen

When a planet, in its orbit, is closer to the Sun, it: 1. moves slower than average 2. reflects less sunlight than average 3. feels less gravitational pull than average 4. moves faster than average 5. spins faster on its axis

Moves faster than average

The star that is currently closest to the North Celestial Pole is: 1. Arcturus 2. Betelgeuse 3. Polaris 4. Rigel 5. Thuban

Polaris

The antimatter version of an electron is called a 1. proton 2. neutrino 3. antitron 4. positron 5. gammatron

Positron

What is the closest star to the Sun? 1. Barnard s Star 2. Sirius 3. Proxima Centauri 4. the Earth 5. all the stars are equally close in a crystaline sphere

Proxima Centauri

The great astronomer of ancient times who summarized and improved a system of circles upon circles to explain the complicated motions of the planets (and published the system in a book now called The Almagest) is: 1. Hipparchus 2. Copernicus 3. Ptolemy 4. Pythagoras 5. Sargon of Akkad

Ptolemy

When larger fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter in 1994, 1. they exploded in Jupiter s atmosphere, releasing energy equal to millions of megatons of TNT 2. they changed the motion of Jupiter, making its orbit larger 3. they produced vast plumes of material that changed the color of Jupiter s inner moons 4. they reassured scientists on Earth that this kind of comet impact could NEVER happen to Earth 5. they produced no visible effect whatsoever on the giant planet Jupiter

They exploded in Jupiter s atmosphere, releasing energy equal to millions of megatons of TNT

Your sweetheart gives you a piece of gold jewelry as a present to celebrate your passing your astronomy class. Where did the gold atoms in that gift originally come from (where were they most likely made)? 1. they were fused during the supergiant stage in the life of a massive star 2. they were built up from smaller nuclei during a supernova explosion 3. they were fused during the main sequence stage of a low-mass star 4. they were fused deep inside the hot core of the Earth a few million years ago 5. they were produced from other atoms in the cool outer envelopes of a red giant star

They were built up from smaller nuclei during a supernova explosion

Why is it hotter in summer in North America than in winter?

Tilt of the earth, sun's rays don't hit us as directly

The 17th century astronomer who kept a roughly 20 year continuous record of the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets was: 1. Tycho Brahe 2. Galileo Galilei 3. Isaac Newton 4. Nicolaus Copernicus 5. Jean Luc Picard

Tycho Brahe

What specific event really made it possible for the three laws of planetary motion to be discovered? 1. a brilliant comet in 1601 blazed across the sky and was seen to cross in front of Venus 2. Tycho Brahe died and his assistant was able to get full access to his data 3. Galileo's books were published in Danish and became widely available to the public 4. an alignment of all the known planets in one part of the sky called everyone's attention to them 5. the plague broke out in England and forced Isaac Newton to return home from college

Tycho Brahe died and his assistant was able to get full access to his data

Which of these worlds is the most active geologically? 1. Venus 2. Mars 3. Mercury 4. the Moon 5. all of the above are equally active these days

Venus

A spot where magma rises to the surface can be seen as a 1. volcano 2. fault 3. subduction zone 4. continental plate 5. swamp

Volcano

Which of the following is a failed star , an object with too little mass to qualify as a star? 1. a brown dwarf 2. an M type dwarf 3. an O-type star 4. the Sun 5. any star with high proper motion

a Brown dwarf

A type of star cluster that contains mostly very old stars is 1. a globular star cluster 2. a stellar association 3. a galaxy 4. an HII region 5. an open cluster

a globular star cluster

The Orion Nebula is? 1. a distant galaxy of stars and raw material 2. a small disk of gas and dust surrounding a single star that was recently formed 3. a large cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the light of newly formed stars within it 4. the remnant of a star that exploded several thousand years ago 5. an illusion caused by activity in the Earth's upper atmosphere

a large cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the light of newly formed stars within it

In a radio telescope, the role that the mirror plays in visible-light telescopes is played by: 1. a spectrometer 2. an interferometer 3. computer software 4. a special kind of glass lens 5. a large metal dish (antenna)

a large metal dish (antenna)

What type of telescope can be used routinely on the surface of the Earth during the DAY? 1. a visible-light telescope 2. a radio telescope 3. an x-ray telescope 4. a gamma-ray telescope 5. there is no telescope that can be used during the DAY

a radio telescope

The Local Bubble is 1. a region of low density interstellar gas extending several hundred LY around the Sun 2. a region around any exploding star where material is expanding from the explosion 3. another name for the Milky Way Galaxy 4. the region around very hot stars where hydrogen is ionized 5. a night club specializing in champagne located in Norman

a region of low density interstellar gas extending several hundred LY around the Sun

A star moving toward the Sun will show: 1. a shift in the spectral lines toward the blue end (as compared to the laboratory positions of these lines) 2. a significant increase in its apparent brightness (magnitude) 3. more and more helium lines as it approaches us 4. a shift in the spectral lines toward the red end (as compared to the laboratory positions of these lines) 5. no change that can be measured with our present-day instruments

a shift in the spectral lines toward the blue end (as compared to the laboratory positions of these lines)

The laws of nature as determined by science? 1. are constructed from many observations, hypotheses, and experiments 2. apply both on Earth and among the stars 3. are often written in the language of mathematics 4.all of these

all of these

Within a constellation, an even smaller, recognizable pattern of stars is often called: 1. a Dipper 2. a zodiac 3. an asterism 4. an ecliptic

an Asterisms

Planets in the habitable zone of their stars: 1. are always the planets closest to the star 2. are also called hot Jupiters 3. are so far from their stars that it is very difficult to discover them 4. are at a temperature where water can exist as a liquid 5. cannot exist around stars that are red dwarfs (spectal type M)

are at a temperature where water can exist as a liquid

Solar wind particles can be captured by the Earth's magnetosphere. When these particles spiral down along the magnetic field into the atmosphere, they are responsible for: 1. aurorae (northern and southern lights) 2. tropical storms (regions of rapidly rotating air) 3. the greenhouse effect 4. the reddish color we see during sunsets 5. the poor quality of television advertisements in the world's northern hemisphere

aurorae (northern and southern lights)

How did Eratosthenes measure the size of the Earth? 1. by walking about one-quarter of the way around its circumference 2. by measuring the times of sunrise in each of the four seasons 3. by determining the parallax of the Moon and finding the size of its orbit 4. by measuring the height of the Sun in the sky on the same day in two cities at different latitudes 5. by asking Aristotle who knew everything

by measuring the height of the Sun in the sky on the same day in two cities at different latitudes

If no one has ever visited the core of the Earth, how do we know that it is made of metals? 1. core material seeps up through volcanoes in the crust 2. circulating liquid metals in the core set up a large (measurable) magnetic field 3. spectroscopy allows us to tell what the core is made of by analyzing the light we receive 4. the amount of radioactivity shows metals must be present; only metals are radioactive 5. you can't fool me; there is NO evidence that the Earth's core has metals

circulating liquid metals in the core set up a large (measurable) magnetic field

The most important function of an astronomical telescope is to: 1. collect as much light as possible and bring it to a focus 2. magnify (enlarge) celestial objects so we can see them clearly 3. enhance the violet colors of an object, which our eyes have trouble seeing 4. bring distant objects closer by pulling on the light 5. pierce through the clouds so a cloudy night is not wasted

collect as much light as possible and bring it to a focus

In the Sun, when a positron and an electron collide, they will produce: 1. a deuteron 2. a neutron 3. hydrogen 4. a neutron 5. energy in the form of a gamma ray

energy in the form of a gamma ray

In its oval shape, the moon resembles?

mercury (or ellipse)

When an astronomer rambles on and on about the luminosity of a star she is studying, she is talking about: 1. what color the star is 2. the total amount of mass in the star 3. the star's apparent size (the size seen from Earth) 4. how much energy the star gives off each second 5. the elements she can see in the star's spectrum

how much energy the star gives off each second

The red color we see on a lot of photographs of nebulae comes from which element? 1. helium 2. oxygen 3. carbon 4. hydrogen 5. not an element at all, but the molecule carbon dioxide?

hydrogen

If you want to find stars that are just being born, where are the best places to search? 1. in HII regions 2. in giant molecular clouds 3. in regions of ultra-hot interstellar hydrogen gas 4. in the disks around massive stars that were just recently formed 5. Hollywood

in giant molecular clouds

Where would you look for the youngest stars in the Milky Way Galaxy? 1. in the halo 2. where there is dark matter 3. in the disk with the dust and nebula clouds 4. in the nuclear bulge the Disney Channel

in the disk with the dust and nebula clouds

The closest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri, was recently found to have a planet in its habitable zone. Proxima Centauri is a cooler red main-sequence star with spectral type M. How would its habitable zone differ from the habitable zone of our Sun? 1. it would be significantly closer to Proxima Centauri than ours is to the Sun 2. it would be significantly further away from Proxima Centauri than our is to the Sun 3. it would be in the same position as our habitable zone, but be much wider 4. it would be in the same position as our habitable zone, but be much thinner 5. this question can t be answered until we send a probe to Proxima Centauri

it would be significantly closer to Proxima Centauri than ours is to the Sun

Astronomers now realize that active regions on the Sun are connected with 1. the dark regions between the bright granulation cells on the photosphere 2. loops of magnetic field emerging from the surface of the Sun 3. the absence of sunspots during a solar minimum 4. great tropical storm systems in the Earth's atmosphere 5. changes in the gravitational pull of the Sun over different parts of its photosphere

loops of magnetic field emerging from the surface of the Sun

The planet Neptune was discovered by means of: 1. careful observations of its motion by one astronomer in England (done over most of his lifetime) 2. observations of its motion performed over many years by astronomers all over the globe 3. radio observations of its large magnetic field 4. mathematical calculations of how it was perturbing the motion of a neighbor planet 5. discrepancies in the horoscopes of famous actors and actresses; errors in the horoscopes showed astrologers that there must be another cosmic influence on their love lives

mathematical calculations of how it was perturbing the motion of a neighbor planet

An H-R Diagram plots the luminosity of stars against their: 1. mass 2. diameter 3. surface temperature/ spectal class 4. age 5. location in the sky

surface temperature/ spectal class

What method was used to discover Pluto in 1929-1930? 1. look at irregularities (wobbles) in the motions of Uranus and Neptune 2. use one of the first radio telescopes to measure cold radio waves from Pluto 3. look for patterns in the orbits of the moons of Neptune to see in which direction Pluto would have escaped 4. take pairs of photographs several days apart and "blink" them 5. Pluto was discovered by Galileo through one of his first telescopes

take pairs of photographs several days apart and "blink" them

Ninety percent of all stars (if plotted on an H-R diagram) would fall into a region astronomers call: 1. the supergiant region 2. the main sequence 3. the white dwarf region 4. the visual region 5. the twilight zone

the Main sequence

Why does the Moon show phases in the course of a month? 1. clouds get in the way of the Moon's light and cover up parts of it 2. the angle the Moon makes with the Sun changes and we see differing amounts of reflected sunlight 3. more or less light from the Earth is reflected as the Moon turns around it 4. the Moon glows from the inside, and its various continents glow different amounts

the angle the Moon makes with the Sun changes and we see differing amounts of reflected sunlight

Which of the following statements about temperature changes on Mercury is correct? 1. it is always hot everywhere on Mercury because the planet is so close to the Sun 2. it is always cold all over Mercury because the planet has no significant atmosphere 3. one side of Mercury is always extremely hot, while the other side is about the same temperature as Los Angeles on Earth 4. the difference in temperature between Mercury's daylight side and its night side is the greatest difference of any planet in the solar system 5. we suspect Mercury must be warm, but we have not been able to measure any temperatures on the planet with our instruments

the difference in temperature between Mercury's daylight side and its night side is the greatest difference of any planet in the solar system

Which of the following is evidence for volcanic activity on Venus? 1. the fact that the lava plains are only 500 million or so years old 2. the existence of large volcanic mountains such as Sif Mons 3. the discovery of thousands of small volcanic cones of the surface of Venus 4. the pancake domes of Venus 5. all of the above

the discovery of thousands of small volcanic cones of the surface of Venus

Edwin Hubble was able to show that (with the exception of our nearest neighbors) the farther a galaxy is from us, the? 1. brighter it looks 2. bluer its color 3. the later in its life we are seeing it 4. the larger its halo is 5. the faster it is moving away from us

the faster it is moving away from us

In Ptolemy's system the planets orbit the Earth and not the Sun. How did the system explain the retrograde motion of planets like Jupiter? 1. the planets were not moving along the ecliptic but all over the celestial sphere 2. the planets moved in very elongated ellipses, and their speed in orbit changed radically over the course of a year 3. the Sun moved among the planets, and pulled them out of their circular orbits 4. the planets moved on a small circle whose center, in turn, circled a point near the Earth 5. Ptolemy's system did not include ANY explanation of retrograde motion

the planets moved on a small circle whose center, in turn, circled a point near the Earth

Christian Doppler discovered what we now call the Doppler Effect by measuring: 1. the wavelengths of the Balmer lines of hydrogen 2. the intensity of the red and blue light from the same star 3. the changes in the radar gun used by his local police officers when they pointed at speeding cars 4. the changes in the colors of a rainbow when the clouds were moving fast 5. the properties of sound waves coming from a group of musicians on a moving, open railroad car

the properties of sound waves coming from a group of musicians on a moving, open railroad car

The process by which Venus became so much hotter than the Earth is called: 1. radioactivity 2. ozone depletion 4. the runaway greenhouse effect 4. tectonic displacement 5. the twisted sister effect

the runaway greenhouse effect

Halley's Comet was given that name because Edmond Halley was 1. the first person to ever see that comet 2. the scientist who pointed out that the orbit of the comet was such that it should return every 76 years or so 3. the chief scientist who designed the probe that flew by the comet 4. the first person to be hurt by pieces falling off the comet 5. prime minister of England at the time the comet was discovered

the scientist who pointed out that the orbit of the comet was such that it should return every 76 years or so

The Andromeda Galaxy (our nearest spiral neighbor) has spectral lines that show a blue shift. From this we may conclude that: 1. the universe is no longer expanding 2. this particular nearby galaxy is moving toward us 3. this galaxy has merged with the Milky Way and is now part of it 4. this particular nearby galaxy is moving away from us 5. this galaxy has an unusual number of very bright and hot O-type stars in it

this particular nearby galaxy is moving toward us

Which of the following objects is considered useful to astronomers as a "standard bulb" for determining distances? 1. type Ia supernovae 2. planets that resemble Earth 3. K-type stars 4. the brightness of the bulge in a galaxy s center 5. the size of the largest diameter open cluster in a galaxy

type Ia supernovae